Phased entry - can I reject school's proposal and insist on alternative

[MuddlingThru]

DS is starting school in Sept. He has 20hrs 1to1 support in his statement. School want to make his entry to school more gradual than his peers. However in my opinion their proposed timetable for DS is too slow and convoluted (3 differents routines within each week and a different combination of those routines each week all the way up to half term ). Despite chasing them, the school left it until the 2nd to last day of term to let me know of their proposed timetable. I wrote to them to say why I thought the timetable does not best meet DS's needs and whilst they came back simplifying it they also made it even slower. I wrote back to them a week ago as to why I still don't think it is the best solution for DS. However I haven't heard from them and as we are well into the school hols I can foresee it being the start of term before I get a response.

Whilst I would prefer to work cooperatively with them I would like to know what my options are in case I need to be more assertive.

DS will have turned 5 at the start of term. Is he entitled to full-time hours? Can I refuse their proposed timetable and insist on an alternative phased entry timetable for DS?

The headteacher is annoyingly hard to talk to, definitely likes things done her way, not sure she likes (or is used to) someone standing their ground with a different viewpoint.

Both my letters so far have stated what I would like to see put in place and kind of ended with a 'I trust that you and your team will be able to accommodate this'. However I need to understand whether if push comes to shove and she doesn't voluntarily agree to a timetable that I feel able to support, who is it that has final say? Can she refuse to accept DS for the additional hours? Or can I invoke a particular clause from law that states what DS is entitled?

We got a delayed entry to school, DS turns 5 in a couple of weeks, ie August. So the term starting in Sept is the term after he turns 5.

The year's delay means that he is now quite ready for school hence why I don't feel that such a slow phased entry is necessary or beneficial for him.

The wording from the link is 'You must make sure your child gets a full-time education that meets their needs'. The head could argue that the phased entry meets his needs. I would argue that such a slow and convoluted phased entry doesn't meet his needs.

You have a crucial card here,.

IF you defer your start date until January, as you are entitled, the school will not have him on roll mid-Nov when the funding for the following year is agreed based on numbers AT THAT TIME.

So, actually, you can state clearly that they play by your rules or you defer to January which is your legal right, but will result in them getting reduced funding the following year.

Play your cards.......

If DS will be 5 before the start of term, I think he is entitled to full time education. Also if his statement says he will receive full time education then that is what he must get.

Bet the plan had full-time by mid Nov in it right?

Yes, does statement say phased entry?

What will his 2o hours TA be doing when he isn't there? tutoring him at home?

DS 'should' have started last Sept but we gained agreement from the Headteacher to delay entry until this year, he turns 5 this month, so I can't defer to January.

I want him to start in Sept. The year's delay is exactly what he needed. He is now ready to start school. I want him to be treated pretty much as any other child starting in Sept is being treated. I was willing to work with the school's proposal of a slower entry when I thought it might be 2-3 afternoons off over 2-3 weeks to allow him (them?) a bit more time to adjust. All the other children will be full time by 23 Sept depending on when they turned 4, DS will remain part time until after 1/2 term.

The process for his statement was started before the Head agreed to a delayed entry. Until I went through the statement process I didn't have enough independent professional evidence for the Head to reasonably be able to agree to the delay. She only agreed towards the end of the statement process so when the statement was produced it was done on the basis of DS starting last year. So the statement doesn't particularly help as it is nearly up for renewal and based on an old situation.

His statement says under Placement: 'From Oct 2012 a mainstream school' and then specifies the school. Doesn't specifically mention anything about phased entry.

I would send a letter agreeing to first week of phased entry, subject to review after that week to see how he is getting on, with the idea that if he is doing well the entry can be speeded up a bit, or kept part time and reviewed after a further week, etc. The 'review' need only be a half hour meeting after school with the class teacher and whoever the decision maker is. I would write something like 'Whilst I agree that planning a phased entry is prudent, and am delighted that you are taking a considered approach to my son's entry to school, I do feel that he has made substantial progress over these past few months. Your kind agreement to defer his entry has made a huge difference and I feel ds may now settle more quickly than we might have anticipated only a few months ago. I'm sure we all agree that if DS does adapt quickly to school, there is no reason to maintain him on a separate entry programme and so I would welcome the chance to review his progress weekly until he is in school full time. May I suggest a first meeting on x date at x time? Please let me know if this time or date is not convenient and we can arrange an alternative.'

sorry, not 'review his progress' but 'review his progress and therefore the roll out of the phased entry programme'

I think you can try, depending how arsey you want to be you can:

1. Say you disagree its in his best interests for such a long phased introduction to school and suggest it is disability discrimination
2. Speak to the LA SEN Officer and tell them about the part-time timetable. The LA has a responsibility to ensure your child receives fulltime education. If it can't be provided in a school the LA has a duty to provide it 'otherwise than in school' under section 19(1) Education Act so you could for eg insist on a home tutor for the hours not in school
3. Point out you have a legal duty under section 7 Education Act 1996 to make sure your child attends school full-time: Duty of parents to secure education of children of compulsory school age.

The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable? (a)to his age, ability and aptitude, and (b)to any special educational needs he may have,either by regular attendance at school or otherwise"

The LA can provide additional funding to school via the Statement of SEN so he can attend fulltime.

See also Children, Schools and Family Act 2010 s.3 which suggests LAs can only arrange a part-time timetable for medical reasons, not because of SEN/ disability. [sometimes there is a phased reintegration into school after an exclusion but thats not your situation]

1. Tell them what you want to happen and say if you are asked to collect him during school hours outside this then you will want that registered as a formal exclusion and require a letter giving reasons why he has been excluded.

1. Suggest he comes fulltime (or your option) and see how it goes rather than school assuming he cannot cope.

1. Point out due to his SEN he requires more teaching than the other children not less!

I would suggest you talk to IPSEA for advice or use their email service to check law etc.

I would think if you ring the LA SEN Officer they would put pressure on school given he will be 5 before Sept.

The only issue may be that if he is on part-time timetable at time of statement review then you will be a good position to argue for more support.

He does not have to be in class all day he can have 'pullouts' in a quiet area with his 1:1, so they would need to have very strong arguments why he could not be on school premises.

But yes I think you are within your rights to drop him off at same time as other children and not to pick him up until end of school and if they are not happy they will have to formally exclude him.

My last, as yet unacknowledged, letter reads very similar to your suggestion except that I proposed Plan A should be a faster entry into school with the weekly review identifying if he is struggling and then taking a decision to slow the pace. Plan A is faster than the one proposed by the school but still slower than the rest of the cohort.

My concern is that they often seem to leave things until the last minute (as a means of minimising the potential to counter their proposals?). If I were to agree to the slower timetable, subject to review and the potential to speed things up, I suspect that should there will be excuses as to why it can't be done straight away, etc. However if the reverse were true and DS did struggle I doubt that they would have any problems with scaling back his hours.

So for me it again boils down to whether I can insist on Plan A being as per my proposed timetable and if so on what grounds (other than being the person who knows DS best!)? Or can the school refuse that?

Thank you AgnesDiPesto. As I said my preference would be to work with the school but if I don't believe they are working in DS best interest I am willing to get arsey :-) You have certainly given me plenty of ammunition if I need to go down that route.

Thank you to everyone else who also volunteered suggestions.

Ilike's suggestion sounds very hard for school to argue with. If it fails, you could then follow-up with Agnes's

You can't really 'insist' a school does anything. They're nothing like a nursery.

By and large, even the best schools hear what you say, decide if they agree, then just do as they see fit. Most become very oppositional if you challenge them openly. And since they've got most of the power, it's best to stay on their good side. I use the PDA management techniques on the dc, but they're even better for school staff

But most schools would be terrified by the idea of a disability discrimination tribunal - although that is the nuclear option!

You could also find an excuse to ring the SEN officer and 'just mention' the part time timetable

Or you could speak to parent partnership who are supposed to be independent but usually share an office with the SEN officer and there is a chance the SEN officer may 'find out' that way.

We had similar but the LA backed the school and totally agreed with a part time timetable - no education was being provided by school or the LA when not in school.They will do what they want - whether legal or not.